Amazon Kindle Fire
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Verge Review
When planning my review of the Kindle Fire, I knew I'd need two things: time, and a big list of music, movies, and books I wanted to dive into. I say that because I assumed going into the review that the Fire wasn't about to take the place of my laptop. The Android-powered, 7-inch device didn't exactly strike me as a productivity machine (at least when you look at the specs), and knowing the selection of apps and services I would have access to, I planned on doing some serious consumption of...Basic Specs
| Thickness | 0.45 inches |
|---|---|
| Weight | 0.91 pounds |
| Screen size (diagonal) | 7 inches |
| Operating system | Android |
| Launch OS version | 2.3.3 |
| CPU brand | TI |
| CPU family | OMAP 4 |
| RAM size | 512 MB |
Recent News
No recent news about Amazon Kindle Fire.
Recent Discussions
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Tech Specs
Hardware
| Height | 7.5 inches |
|---|---|
| Width | 4.7 inches |
| Thickness | 0.45 inches |
| Weight | 0.91 pounds |
| Color | Black |
| Speakers | Stereo |
Display
| Screen size (diagonal) | 7 inches |
|---|---|
| Technology | IPS LCD |
| Resolution (X) | 600 px |
| Resolution (Y) | 1024 px |
| PPI | 170 |
| Touchscreen type | Capacitive |
| Multitouch | Yes |
Software
| Operating system | Android |
|---|---|
| Skin | Kindle |
| Launch OS version | 2.3.3 |
Processor
| CPU brand | TI |
|---|---|
| CPU family | OMAP 4 |
| CPU model | OMAP4430 |
| Clock speed | 1 GHz |
| Cores | 2 |
GPU
| Brand | Imagination Technologies |
|---|---|
| Model | PowerVR SGX540 |
Memory
| RAM size | 512 MB |
|---|
Storage
| Internal size | 8 GB |
|---|
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
|---|---|
| Wi-Fi support | 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b |
| Bluetooth | No |
Ports
| Headphone | 3.5mm |
|---|---|
| Data connections | Micro USB |
Sensors
| Sensors | Ambient Light, Accelerometer |
|---|
Battery
| Capacity | 4400 mAh |
|---|---|
| Removable | No |
| Quoted use time | 7.5 hr |
Benchmarks
| Quadrant | 2011 |
|---|---|
| SunSpider | 2541.9 ms |
| The Verge Battery Test | 5 hour 47 minutes |
Recent News
No recent news about Amazon Kindle Fire.
Recent Discussions
No recent discussions about Amazon Kindle Fire.
Average User Review
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- Design 7
- Display 8
- Speakers 6
- Performance 7
- Software 7
- Battery life 7
- Ecosystem 9
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Reviewed by Brooski (Currently owns)
Show the rest of this review and the breakdownThis tablet is incredibly underrated. It shouldn't be compared to the iPad or billed as an "iPad killer" because the two devices are completely different. The content is the best part of the Fire.. There is a large selection of books, videos, music, etc. A small complaint would be the limited selection of apps. However, most of the "necessary" apps are in the app store.. Additionally, some of the Amazon apps seem like phone apps that are adjusted to the Kindle Fire screen. The software layout is great and the simplicity is a nice touch. Even though the Fire only has 8GB of storage it doesn't really matter since it is easy and convenient to store most music and videos in the cloud. The browser is pretty fast, but at times the WiFi can be shoddy. As far as content goes, I don't use this device for music too often, but it is perfect for watching videos and reading books/magazines. The Kindle Fire is a fantastic device that I use every day. For only $199, it is a steal among tablets.
The Breakdown
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- Design 7
- Display 8
- Speakers 7
- Performance 9
- Software 10
- Battery life 8
- Ecosystem 10
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Reviewed by sonelone (Currently owns)
Show the rest of this review and the breakdownWhile it is of course not as good as an iPad 2 or Transformer Prime, it is not competing with those. The price alone for this product gives it a higher score. Essentially, this is a Blackberry playbook running Android, which is not bad at all. CM9 on this thing is great.
The Breakdown
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- Design 6
- Display 8
- Speakers 7
- Performance 9
- Software 6
- Battery life 8
- Ecosystem 10
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Reviewed by maryhb (Currently owns)
Show the rest of this review and the breakdownThe Kindle Fire is a very understated tablet. The design is sensible (with the exception of the placement of the power button on the bottom edge - what?), the software is fairly stark and utilitarian. Pretty much every element of the tablet is just enough. It's not much to write home about, but there's really nothing to complain about either. Strong points are the bright IPS display and the Amazon content library. Weaker are the speaker placement and the design of the tablet. There are two speakers on the top of the tablet. This is fine for listening to music, but when watching a movie in landscape format, the placement results in the sound coming from only one side. It's a small detail, but I found it to be fairly irritating. Finally, the design, while certainly not bad, is just boring. Everything is squared off, and it makes the Fire look and feel thicker than it needs to. A little bit of taper on the sides would make it sleeker in the hand. I like a lot of things about the hardware, don't get me wrong, but a little bit of the flash implied by the name would make it more lively. But the way the tablet looks doesn't really affect the experience a whole lot, and Amazon has definitely put together a tablet that is polished, that is pleasant to use, and that takes excellent advantage of Amazon's very healthy ecosystem.
The Breakdown
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- Design 6
- Display 8
- Speakers 6
- Performance 7
- Software 8
- Battery life 7
- Ecosystem 8
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Reviewed by thekitch (Currently owns)
Show the rest of this review and the breakdownLove it! My first tablet and I couldn't ask for more, well maybe more performance and more battery life. Oh, and better apps. Then I would be done. Overall though it's awesome for consuming content. You must get the nook app for magazines though, far better than the native kindle stuff. Feedly is my go to for keeping up with the world. Best way ever to consume google reader. Also great for video. ESPN streaming works great for basketball games. UPnP for streaming my own content from my Mac. Amazon video is awesome.
The Breakdown
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- Design 8
- Display 8
- Speakers 4
- Performance 7
- Software 7
- Battery life 7
- Ecosystem 8
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Reviewed by coreyod (Currently owns)
Show the rest of this review and the breakdownPrimarily, the Kindle Fire is a device for personal content use; not for business, not for creatives, not for hackers, not for students…not exclusively anyway.
Kids (though the device needs spending controls to prevent rampant purchasing), mom, dad, grandma, and non-geeks will love it.The Kindle Fire is a seamless, friction-free gateway into the world of Amazon, and will likely suck dollars from your wallet without you even noticing. The Amazon Prime membership ($79 per year) is nearly obligatory, as the selection of movies and TV shows rivals or bests Netflix and provides a great streaming experience. The Kindle Fire has a huge leg-up over most competitors with a movie-rental store as well, offering $3-$4 rentals of recent releases that can be viewed on the Kindle Fire (even when off-line) and on a myriad of TV-connected boxes (Roku, Tivo, DVD players, Smart TV’s etc.) The application market is nowhere near the size and quality of Apple’s App Store, nor as broad as the barely-curated Google Market, but the big name items are in there and more seem to be coming, based on developer interest in the platform.
Welcome to the Post-PC era. The Kindle Fire is NOT an iPad competitor; for some (myself included), it actually offers a complimentary experience, focused more on reading and portability than unlimited-application capabilities; though time will tell if it can hold a spot in my usage patterns...
Full Review here: http://paralleltech.wordpress.com/
The Breakdown
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- Design 5
- Display 7
- Speakers 5
- Performance 4
- Software 5
- Battery life 5
- Ecosystem 9
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Reviewed by kyle932 (Currently owns)
Show the rest of this review and the breakdownThe Kindle Fire was given to me as an early Christmas gift, and I have been playing with it extensively for a week. The design is minimal at best, but I happen to like it. The soft touch/ rubbery back is comfortable to hold, and makes the Fire easy to grip. The display is crisp, bright, and easy to read but it is very glossy and I had trouble reading it in a lit room. It became almost impossible to view outside. The screen also collects smudges very easily, but fortunately they are easy to clean off. The real problem for me with the Kindle Fire is the skin that Amazon put on it. I personally find it very difficult to use the carousel and I constantly skip over the things I try to select. I often have to touch things several times to get them to open, and I have to hold down certain buttons (like the home button) for it to register my press. Battery life tends to be quite good, especially if you spend most of your time reading, however if the screen brightness is all the way up the battery life suffers severely (in my experience).
The Breakdown
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- Design 7
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- Speakers 6
- Performance 7
- Software 4
- Battery life 7
- Ecosystem 8
